The first escalator of Mumbai suburban railways will be inaugurated at Thane station Thursday by Thane guardian minister Ganesh Naik.

The escalator has been installed between platforms three and four. Another escalator between platform five and six will also be functional soon. While the foundation of the escalator has been created,the machinery is likely to be installed only after the monsoon, said Atul Rane,chief public relations officer,CR.

With a footfall of more than 6.5 lakh passengers at the station,Thane has been ranked the busiest suburban station by a survey conducted by Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) last year. Railway officials said the 1.7-metre wide escalator is being installed at a cost of Rs 80 lakh per set.

Two escalators each are planned at Dombivli,Kalyan,and one at Vikhroli. Western Railway plans to have one escalator each at Vile Parle,Borivali,Dadar and Andheri. The one at Vile Parle is expected to be operational by the end of July .

The escalator installed at Thane is connected to the 12 metre-wide Foot Over Bridge (FOB) constructed last year. CR plans to connect the FOB to the upper deck created under Station Area Traffic Improvement Scheme (SATIS) on the west side of the station,which is reserved for bus movement. There are plans to connect the FOB with the skywalk on the east side to provide seamless connectivity.

MP Sanjeev Ganesh Naik,NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad,Mayor of Thane,Harishchandra Shripat Patil,and senior officials of Central Railway will also be present at the inauguration.